For big food and beverage factories, keeping food safe and high-quality is very important. The AIB International Consolidated Standards help ensure everything is done right. Here's what AIB is and how, with Inspectle Food, you can quickly meet the AIB food safety standard, saving 70% of your time and bringing 4x faster resolution speed of non-conformities.
What is the AIB food safety standard?
Let's do a quick recap before we begin. The AIB (American Institute of Baking) Standard, officially known as the AIB International Consolidated Standards for Inspection, is a set of guidelines designed to help food manufacturing facilities maintain high levels of food safety and quality. These standards cover all aspects of food production, including how raw materials are received, stored, and processed, the cleanliness of equipment and facilities, pest management, and the adequacy of food safety programs.
To meet the guidelines, for example, you can inspect the cleanliness of equipment with Inspectle Food and record it:
The AIB standards are based on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), regulatory requirements, and best practices in food safety. They were first introduced in 1956 to provide a benchmark for the baking industry. However, they have since been updated and expanded to cover various segments of the food supply chain, including beverage facilities, food distribution centers, and packaging manufacturing facilities.
What makes AIB certification different from other food safety standards
While most quality standards focus on procedures and documentation, AIB certification's main standpoint is that your actual production environment situation reflects the best quality system strengths and weaknesses. To evaluate the latter, the main focus of the AIB standard is visual inspection rather than extensive documentation. Practicality before documentation.
Other standards in the food industry, like ISO 22000 or BRCGS, emphasize detailed procedures and extensive documentation. They focus on ensuring that every step of food production is meticulously recorded. This means much attention is given to how well processes are documented, such as the exact steps of a handwashing procedure.
However, AIB certification standards take a different approach. They prioritize visual inspections over just paperwork. The idea is that the real condition of the factory—what you can see—is the best indicator of food safety. Inspecting workers look closely at the cleanliness and orderliness of the facility, how well equipment is maintained, and how workers handle food.
AIB believes that seeing the environment provides a more accurate picture of food safety practices. For example, instead of checking if a cleaning schedule is documented, AIB will direct you to see if surfaces are clean. This approach ensures that what is written in the documents happens on the ground.
Why use Inspectle Food to meet AIB food safety standards
Inspectle Food aligns well with this visual inspection focus. It helps facilities keep track of inspections and maintenance tasks in real time. With Inspectle, you can schedule inspections, document findings with photos, and track issues until they are resolved. This digital tool ensures that the physical reality of the factory matches the high standards required by AIB.
This practical focus on the real conditions in the factory helps companies maintain high standards and ensures that their food products are safe for consumers.
AIB Standards emphasize what you can see in the factory. This visual approach helps ensure that food production is safe and clean, not just on paper but in practice. Tools like Inspectle Food support this by making it easier to manage and document these visual inspections effectively. Giving you 70% time savings, 4x faster resolution, and 4% less food waste. Book a free demo to discover more.
What is a good AIB score?
With AIB comes a well-developed scoring system designed to provide you with the most adequate understanding of your food quality system. At first glance, it might look complicated, but when you put the pieces of the puzzle together, it all makes sense.
First, the total maximum score is 1,000. The higher the score, the better the quality system you have in place.
The 1,000 points are equally divided between 5 main categories, and a maximum of 200 points can be earned in each category with a total maximum of 1,000 points (200+200+200+200=1,000).
The categories you evaluate in the inspection remain always the same and are as follows:
Operational Methods and Personnel Practices (200 points)
Maintenance for Food Safety ( 200 points)
Cleaning Practices (200 points)
Integrated Pest Management (200 points)
Adequacy of Prerequisite and Food Safety Programs (200 points)
During the inspection, you evaluated each category according to the scoring, which determines how many points are deducted from the 200 points.
No Issues Observed: 200 points indicate perfect compliance with no observed issues.
Minor Issues Noted: 180-195 points - This indicates minor issues that do not pose a significant risk of contamination.
Improvement Needed: 160-175 points - This indicates a potential hazard that needs to be addressed to prevent a program failure.
Serious: 140-155 points indicate a significant food safety risk.
Unsatisfactory: 135 points or below indicates an imminent food safety hazard or program failure.
A good AIB score is typically 180 points or higher for each category, indicating that any issues found are minor and do not pose a significant risk to food safety. Facilities strive for scores as close to 200 as possible to demonstrate their commitment to maintaining high food safety and qualitystandards.
✅ Score High with AIB! Inspectle helps you quickly meet AIB standards and maintain high-quality food safety. Get a free demo now!
How Inspectle calculates the score for you and saves time
With Inspectle Food, you can easily choose from the inspection app which category of non-conformity is linked and how you will score it. You do not need to worry about the calculation logic since it’s all calculated according to the standard. You can just focus on the inspection and evaluate each non-conformity individually.
How to evaluate different AIB food safety categories
1. Operational Methods and Personnel Practices
Verifying food is handled and stored safely is a big part of the AIB standards. This section looks at how workers manage raw materials and make safe food products. Here’s how to check and improve your score in this AIB food safety category using Inspectle Food.
What do Operational Methods and Personnel Practices mean?
In the context of the AIB food safety standards, operational methods and personnel practices focus on how food is handled, stored, and processed to ensure it is safe to eat. This involves several key activities and protocols that must be followed strictly:
Key Areas of Focus:
Receiving Shipments:
When raw materials or ingredients arrive at the facility, they must be checked thoroughly. This means examining the condition of the delivery trucks, ensuring the packaging is intact, and verifying that the temperature of perishable items is correct. This helps prevent any contaminated or spoiled materials from entering the production process.
Make sure all incoming shipments are clean, properly sealed, and not contaminated. This means checking the transport vehicles and the packaging of raw materials.
Check the temperature of perishable goods when arriving to confirm they are transported under the right conditions.
Storage Practices:
Raw materials and finished products need to be stored properly to avoid contamination. Proper storage prevents food from spoiling and protects it from pests and other hazards. This includes keeping food at the right temperature, storing chemicals away from food, and organizing stock so older items are used first (First-In-First-Out or FIFO system).
Store materials in a way that stops contamination. This includes keeping raw materials at the right temperatures and avoiding pests and other hazards.
Use the First-In-First-Out (FIFO) system to ensure older stock is used before newer stock, which helps prevent the use of expired materials.
Personnel Practices:
The people working in the facility play a big role in food safety. They must follow strict hygiene practices, such as washing hands regularly, wearing clean uniforms, and using gloves when handling food. Training and regular updates on food safety practices are essential to ensure all employees understand and follow these rules.
Make sure all employees follow strict hygiene rules. This means regular handwashing, wearing clean uniforms, and using protective gear when needed.
Hold regular training sessions to update staff on the latest food safety practices and company rules.
How Inspectle Helps:
Visual Inspections:
Whenever you receive shipments, you can have frontline workers conduct a visual inspection that includes checking the condition of transport vehicles and verifying temperatures. This helps ensure that all inspections are complete and consistent. Because Inspectle Food offers a super easy mobile app for visual inspections – anyone can use it regardless of background or tech knowledge.
Automated Alerts:
Set up automated reminders for upcoming inspections and tasks that need attention. For example, you can schedule regular storage inspections to make sure materials are stored correctly and not close to expiring. Alerts can be sent to responsible workers to remind them of upcoming tasks.
Inspection Documentation:
Use Inspectle to document all findings during inspections. You can take photos of any issues and attach them to the inspection report. This gives visual proof of problems and helps tell the relevant teams so they can fix the issues quickly.
Compliance Tracking:
Track how well you follow operational methods and personnel practices in real time. Any problems can be logged and monitored until fixed, certifying your facility follows AIB standards closely.
📈 Improve Your AIB Score! Inspectle makes it easy to meet AIB standards and keep your food products safe and high-scoring. Schedule a free demo!
2. Maintenance for Food Safety
Keeping equipment, buildings, and grounds in good shape is fundamental to food safety. This section focuses on how maintaining a clean and efficient environment helps prevent contamination and ensures the safety of food products. Here’s how you can evaluate and improve maintenance practices using Inspectle.
What is Maintenance for Food Safety?
Maintenance for food safety involves regular upkeep of equipment, buildings, and grounds to create a sanitary, efficient, and reliable manufacturing environment. This includes everything from fixing leaks and maintaining drainage systems to ensuring equipment is properly calibrated and functioning. Here are some key aspects:
Key Areas of Focus:
Equipment Maintenance:
Regularly servicing and cleaning equipment to prevent breakdowns and contamination. This involves checking for wear and tear, lubricating moving parts, and replacing damaged components. Proper maintenance ensures equipment runs smoothly and safely.
Regularly inspect and clean equipment to prevent breakdowns and contamination. This includes checking for wear and tear, lubricating moving parts, and replacing damaged components.
Ensure equipment is properly calibrated and functioning to maintain food safety standards.
Facility Grounds:
Keeping the exterior of the facility clean and safe. This includes managing landscaping to prevent pests, maintaining drainage systems to avoid water buildup, and ensuring pathways and loading docks are clean and free of debris. Proper upkeep of the facility grounds helps prevent contamination from entering the food production area.
Keep the exterior of the facility clean and safe. This includes managing landscaping to prevent pests and maintaining drainage systems to avoid water buildup.
Ensure pathways and loading docks are clean and free of debris.
Building Maintenance:
Ensuring the interior of the facility is well-maintained. This involves repairing structural damage, maintaining proper lighting, and providing ventilation systems work correctly. Regular building maintenance helps create a safe and clean environment for food production.
Repair any structural damage and maintain proper lighting and ventilation systems. This helps create a safe and clean environment for food production.
Regularly inspect and maintain the facility's interior to ensure it meets safety standards.
How Inspectle Helps:
Automatic Reports for Compliance Tracking:
Track compliance with maintenance standards in real-time. Log and monitor non-conformities until they are resolved, ensuring that your facility remains compliant with AIB standards.
Maintenance Scheduling:
Inspectle helps you schedule regular maintenance tasks and inspections. You can set reminders for equipment servicing, building inspections, and ground maintenance. This ensures that all maintenance tasks are completed on time and nothing is overlooked.
Documentation:
Use Inspectle to document all maintenance activities. You can keep records of inspections, repairs, and servicing. This helps track maintenance history and identify recurring issues. Proper documentation is essential for maintaining compliance with AIB standards.
Visual Proof:
With Inspectle, you can take photos of maintenance activities and attach them to the inspection reports. This provides visual proof of completed tasks and helps communicate the status of maintenance activities to relevant teams.
Real-Time Tracking:
Inspectle allows you to track maintenance activities in real-time. You can monitor the progress of repairs and ensure that any issues are resolved promptly, helping to maintain a safe and efficient production environment.
Automated Alerts:
Set up automated alerts for upcoming maintenance tasks and inspections. This helps ensure all tasks are carried out on time and promptly addresses any issues. Automated alerts also help maintain a proactive approach to maintenance.
🔒 Secure a Top AIB Score! Using Inspectle, you can easily comply with AIB standards and ensure your food is safe and high-quality. Book a free demo here!
3. Cleaning Practices
Cleaning equipment, utensils, and buildings is the next step in food safety and quality management. Proper cleaning prevents contamination and ensures food products are safe to eat. Here’s how you can check and improve cleaning practices using Inspectle.
What are Cleaning Practices?
In AIB food safety standards, cleaning practices mean regularly cleaning and sanitizing all surfaces, equipment, and tools used in food production. This includes having set cleaning schedules, using the right cleaning agents, and keeping all areas free from dirt and germs.
Here are some key aspects:
Key Areas of Focus:
Cleaning Schedules:
Setting regular cleaning times for all areas and equipment. This makes sure that all surfaces are cleaned often enough to stop dirt and bacteria from building up.
Confirm there are regular cleaning times for all areas and equipment. This helps stop dirt and bacteria from building up.
Sanitizing Procedures:
Using the right sanitizers and cleaning agents to kill harmful germs. It’s important to use effective and safe products for food areas.
Use the right sanitizers and cleaning agents. Make sure they are effective and safe for use in food areas.
Verification and Documentation:
Checking that the cleaning was done well includes looking at cleaned areas and testing surfaces for leftover germs. Keeping records of these activities helps track how well the cleaning practices work.
Check that cleaning procedures are effective. Look at cleaned areas and test surfaces for leftover germs. Keep records of these activities to track the effectiveness of the cleaning practices.
How Inspectle Helps:
Regular Visual Cleaning Inspections for Different Areas:
You can create visual inspections for different areas and equipment, making sure nothing is missed. This helps keep cleaning routines consistent and hold people accountable because nothing beats visual proof.
Make inspections detailed and thorough:
Go beyond the first visual impression. You can write down what was cleaned, by who, and when it was cleaned. This provides a clear record of all cleaning activities.
Verification:
Add visual proof acts as verification and verify from the app if tasks registered on the last inspection are done properly. Inspectle allows you to check the effectiveness of cleaning procedures. You can take photos of cleaned areas and attach them to inspection reports, which helps to confirm that cleaning is done properly.
Automated Alerts:
Set up automated alerts to remind staff of upcoming cleaning tasks. This certifies that all cleaning activities are done on time and helps prevent any lapses in cleaning schedules.
🚀 Fast-Track to a High AIB Score! Inspectle helps you meet AIB standards quickly, keeping your food safe and ensuring a high score. Book a free demo now!
4. Integrated Pest Management
Keeping pests out of food processing areas is one of the most important recurring tasks for food safety in larger food manufacturing facilities. Pests can carry harmful bacteria and contaminate food products, leading to serious health issues. Here’s how you can evaluate and improve pest management practices using Inspectle.
What is Integrated Pest Management?
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a way to control pests that uses different methods to prevent and manage pest problems. It focuses on being environmentally friendly and using safe practices. Here are some key points:
Key Areas of Focus:
Preventive Measures:
Steps to keep pests out of the facility. This includes sealing cracks, keeping areas clean, and removing anything that might attract pests, like food and water sources.
Seal cracks and gaps to stop pests from entering.
Keep the facility clean and remove anything that might attract pests.
Monitoring and Identification:
Check for pests regularly and identify which types are present. This helps in taking the right action quickly to prevent bigger problems.
Regularly check for signs of pests.
Identify the types of pests to use the best control methods.
Control Methods:
Using a mix of methods to manage pests. This can include traps, natural predators, and pesticides only as a last resort.
Use traps, natural predators, and pesticides carefully to manage pests.
How Inspectle Helps:
Pest Monitoring:
Inspectle helps you set up regular pest monitoring visual inspections checklists. This helps catch pest problems early.
Documentation:
Use Inspectle to keep records of pest sightings and control measures. Documenting these activities helps track pest activity and measure the success of different methods.
Automated Alerts:
Set up alerts to remind staff of upcoming pest inspections and control tasks. This ensures timely actions and prevents infestations.
Photo Documentation:
With Inspectle, you can take photos of pest sightings and attach them to inspection reports. This helps show the situation clearly to relevant teams.
Share findings:
You can share findings registered during inspection with outsourced pest management services.
🌟 Achieve Excellence with AIB! Inspectle lets you meet AIB standards effortlessly, ensuring high-quality food products and a high AIB score. Get your free demo!
5. Adequacy of Prerequisite and Food Safety Programs
What do Prerequisite and Food Safety Programs mean in AIB?
In the context of AIB, "Adequacy of Prerequisite and Food Safety Programs" means having the necessary foundational programs and practices to maintain a hygienic and safe food processing environment. These programs form the basis for more advanced food safety systems and are essential for preventing contamination and ensuring food safety. They include the following key elements:
Key Areas of Focus:
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs):
GMPs cover all aspects of food production, including facilities' cleanliness, proper equipment maintenance, and workers' personal hygiene. These guidelines help maintain a clean and safe environment for food production.
Check that all parts of food production, from facility cleanliness to equipment maintenance, follow GMP guidelines. This helps keep a clean production environment.
Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs):
SSOPs are specific procedures that detail how to clean and sanitize equipment and facilities. These procedures help prevent contamination and ensure all cleaning activities are done correctly and consistently.
Confirm that all cleaning and sanitizing procedures are followed correctly. SSOPs should detail every step of the cleaning process to ensure thorough sanitation.
Training Programs:
All employees need to receive regular training on food safety practices and procedures. This ensures that everyone understands their role in keeping food safe and knows how to follow the necessary protocols.
Make sure all employees get regular training on food safety practices. Training should cover the basics of food safety, the importance of hygiene, and specific procedures relevant to their roles.
How Inspectle Helps:
Visual Inspections
Nothing beats visual inspections to make sure all necessary tasks are completed and documented properly. Inspectle Food is the fastest and easiest way to do visual inspections in the food industry.
Compliance Tracking:
Inspectle helps you monitor compliance with food safety programs in real time. Any issues can be logged and addressed quickly to maintain high safety standards.
Inspection Documentation:
Document all inspections and findings using Inspectle. This provides a clear record of compliance and helps identify areas for improvement.
🌟 Ace Your AIB Inspection! Use Inspectle to meet AIB standards quickly and ensure your food products are top-notch, securing a high AIB score. Book your free demo today!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about AIB Food Safety
What Does AIB Stand For in the Food Industry?
AIB stands for the American Institute of Baking. Established in 1919, AIB International initially focused on baking science and technology but has grown to become a leading food safety and quality organization. The AIB International Consolidated Standards for Inspection are globally recognized and widely used to ensure food safety in different types of food facilities.
AIB International offers inspections and consulting services to help food manufacturers meet these standards. These standards are designed to prevent food contamination and ensure food products are safe for consumers. They are continually updated to reflect new scientific knowledge, regulations, and best practices in the food industry.
What is AIB Food Safety Training?
What is an AIB Food Safety Audit?
Where can I find the AIB Food Safety Standards PDF?
What's the connection between the AIB standard and food safety culture?
What is an AIB Food Safety Audit Checklist?
What is AIB Food Safety Essentials Training?
About the Author: Robert Jakobson
Robert Jakobson has worked in the manufacturing industry since 2010. With over a decade of experience in B2B marketing, he specializes in helping companies improve their operations with software and hardware solutions. His deep knowledge of the industry and passion for technology make him a trusted expert. Robert’s experience ranges from product development to marketing, giving him valuable insights into how businesses can use tools like the Inspectle Food Safety Inspection software to stay compliant and improve their processes.